An investigation of the impact on the nurse lecturer of the transfer of nurse education into higher education

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore perceptions about nurse teacher role attributes during the transition of nurse education from the colleges of nursing in the National Health Service (NHS) into higher education institutions (HEIs). The purpose was to make recommendations for practice that may be used to understand and develop the role of nurse lecturers in the future. The principles of ethnography were used to review the role of nurse teachers as they transferred from 'Nurse Tutors' in colleges of nursing to 'Lecturers in Nursing' in HEIs. Data were collated by methodological triangulation, which included interviews and questionnaires. Perceptions of the nurse teachers' role were explored, by interviews, with a sample of fifteen nurse teachers before, at and after the transfer from one college of nursing into one university. Perceptions about the impact of the merger from the perspective of twenty qualified clinical nurses were sought after the merger. The qualitative interview findings were used to develop a questionnaire, enabling the views of nurse lecturers (n--98) across two other universities in the UK to be explored. The overall findings indicated that whilst the majority of nurse lecturers had settled into their roles as lecturers in higher education after one year, some did not understand the organisational culture within which they worked. The findings raise issues pertaining to role adaptation and questions whether some aspects of the nurse lecturer's role have changed significantly since relocation. This has implications for the future planning when developing the nurse lecturer role. The findings indicate a need for ftirther work in the field, as to date there are a limited number of studies that have considered the ways in which organisational culture impacts on the nurse lecturer role in practice.